


you're my antidote

by jenhyung



Series: first loves and so forth [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 13:45:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13765392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenhyung/pseuds/jenhyung
Summary: Yukhei falls sick. – Jungwoo / Yukhei (College!AU)





	you're my antidote

**Author's Note:**

> 2k+ of pointless writing!! back for a second just to post a short drabble i worked on for a half hour during class... not beta-ed, not good 
> 
> edit: am i using the right pairing tag?? if anyone sees this, please tell me which one i should use out of the three!! thank you!!
> 
>  **flasf time period:** year 4, august

“Could you shut your phone off? It’s going off every two minutes.”

Jungwoo mumbles a muted _sorry_ to the kid sitting a row under him, plucking his phone off his desk with an apologetic look. The boy really could’ve worded it a little nicer, but his phone _has_ been receiving an inordinate number of messages, vibrating noisily with every minute and Jungwoo has to admit that it was getting on his nerves too. He debates checking his notifications, having a personal rule never to deal with technology in classes, but his curiosity gets the better of him and he unlocks it just for a quick peek.

 

22 FEB [12:32] **donghyuck** : there’s an emergency  
22 FEB [12:32] **donghyuck** : like a big emergency  
22 FEB [12:33] **donghyuck** : huge emergency  
22 FEB [12:34] **donghyuck** : a six-foot big emergency

22 FEB [12:35] **minhyung** : it’s not an emergency  
22 FEB [12:35] **minhyung** : it’s just your boyfriend

 

_What?_

 

22 FEB [12:38] **minhyung** : he has a cold

 

For a good minute and a half, Jungwoo’s brain blanks.

Following, there are about thirty more or so messages from both Minhyung and Donghyuck, relaying information of a sick giant who is, at this current point in time, having trouble getting out of bed. Donghyuck is suffering by association, having made the bad decision of going over to spend lunch with Minhyung, only to be trapped into taking care of a certain oversized baby.

The professor by the front of the auditorium whizzes by four slides worth of film analysis that Jungwoo fails to catch, but there are supposedly more pressing issues at hand,

 

22 FEB [12:47] **jungwoo** : take him to the doctor, please  
22 FEB [12:47] **jungwoo** : i’m stuck in class and i only get out at two  
22 FEB [12:48] **donghyuck** : says he doesn’t want to  
22 FEB [12:48] **donghyuck** : says his manly man cells will fix him in no time

22 FEB [12:49] **minhyung** : and we can’t get him out of bed  
22 FEB [12:49] **minhyung** : please come over and cure him  
22 FEB [12:50] **minhyung** : and bring him some soup or something  
22 FEB [12:50] **minhyung** : he hasn’t eaten since last night…  
22 FEB [12:51] **minhyung** : it’s pretty bad…

 

Jungwoo sighs under his breath, a tinge of distress prickling at his fingertips.

He dishes out a list of pros and cons mentally immediately; if he was going to leave class right now, would he _really_ miss anything? Sure, there were maybe twenty odd more slides of lecture, but how much was he going to absorb while worrying over his boyfriend, mind consumed with anything but the contents presented?

Fighting his moral conscience and the previously determined will to maintain good grades, Jungwoo shoves his notebooks and stationary hastily into his backpack, slinking out of the lecture theatre before he can change his mind. The door shuts heavily, but he can’t find it in him to care too much.

 _Calm down,_ he tells himself, crossing the courtyard with lengthened strides. _Food, food, food_ , his brain chants. With a thundering heart, Jungwoo takes a detour before heading to the bus stand, stopping by the food hall to pack back a serving of tomato soup and a side of garlic bread, Yukhei’s favourite comfort food. He swipes for a turkey bacon and cheese sandwich too, just in case either Minhyung or Donghyuck were hungry.

Campus dorms aren't far from the main buildings, but roommates Minhyung and Yukhei were unlucky, assigned to stay in the residence hall furthest from campus, so far out that the shuttle that ran daily to and fro was a full fifteen-minute ride. Jungwoo settles into the seat nearest to the exit, bobbing his knees anxiously as the tiny bus lurches forward, commencing the torturous ride.

If it were anyone else, Jungwoo wouldn’t be as worried. Aside from the fact that Yukhei was his loving boyfriend, it was also known between most of their friend group that Yukhei rarely gets sick. When he _does_ get sick, however, all hell breaks loose.

Fevers running dangerously high, appetite non-existent, limbs constantly aching, breaking out in cold sweat. The symptoms last far longer than a usual cold does too, forcing the giant of a boy to suffer through them for most often more than a week or so.

Jungwoo struggles to remember the last time Yukhei had gotten sick, but he distinctly remembers having to call Doyoung to come down and drive them to the emergency room when Yukhei’s fever wouldn’t subside. He was lying in bed with a chest so tight that he could barely breathe without it hurting, and only with copious amounts of begging from Jungwoo did Yukhei agree to go to the hospital to get checked out. One agonising drive later, an IV drip was prescribed to him and Jungwoo stayed by his bed the entire night, holding onto a clammy hand and enduring the spikes of pain that shot up his spine from having slept in a creaky plastic chair.

Presently, the trek up five flights of stairs is tiring, but the elevator always takes too long and Jungwoo is too jittery to wait another minute more. Tomato soup sloshes around the transparent plastic as Jungwoo taps the spare entry key card Yukhei had given him at the start of the semester, and he’s met face-to-face with both Minhyung and Donghyuck huddled on the couch, already dressed in their coats.

It’s silent for a moment, and all Jungwoo hears is his laboured breathing and the sound of his heartbeat slamming in his ears.

Donghyuck speaks first, “Told you he’d skip class. You owe me lunch.”

Minhyung groans, reaching forward to hit pause on whatever they were watching on his laptop, “I was going to buy you lunch anyway.”

Jungwoo toes his shoes off, shuffling into the small apartment, “Is he awake?”

“Awake and whining for you,” Minhyung informs him, getting to his feet and stretching his arms out. Donghyuck does the same, zipping up his coat with the clear intention of leaving. “I think it’s contagious, so good luck in there.”

“Thanks,” Jungwoo says breathlessly, heading straight for Yukhei’s room after bidding the younger couple goodbye. He hovers by the white-washed door, waiting until Minhyung and Donghyuck’s voices no longer carried down the short hallway. It's drowned out, then followed by the soft _thud_ of the front door closing shut.

He enters without knocking, peering into the dark and musty room before fully pushing the door open, jaw dropping at the sight in front of him.

Mountains of tissue surround the bed pushed against the corner, littering the floor like a minefield full of booby traps. There is no sign of water or food anywhere. Just tissues and tissues and tissues.

Yukhei is tucked under a blanket, from what Jungwoo can make out of the rounded heap, only his crown of dark blonde peeking through the edges.

Jungwoo’s first thought is, _Okay. At least he’s not on the floor._

His second thought is completely overridden by that _smell_ that hits him straight in the face. Pure sickness floating through the air, dense without any sunlight in the room, heavy curtains drawn to keep Yukhei’s headache from worsening, Jungwoo would imagine.

He curses inwardly, knowing that if he’d been here with Yukhei from the start, he’d have forced the younger boy to have some liquids, some vitamin D and some sunlight to help alleviate that sickly feeling. Yukhei has always been terrible at taking care of himself, and he always takes pride in it, arguing that Jungwoo would always be there to take care of him anyway.

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

Quietly, Jungwoo closes the door, and the sound of the handle being released is enough to draw Yukhei from under the covers, face pale and hair mussed. He frowns at first, blinking furiously to try and figure out who is it that was brave enough to enter the nauseating cave he’d built for himself. Then, a look of recognition,

“Baby,” Yukhei barely manages a croak.

Jungwoo shuts down the urge to smile. Every step he takes towards the bed, with careful consideration of the tissues covering the carpeted floor, coaxes Yukhei out of his little nest, revealing dry lips and a runny nose. Under the blanket, Yukhei is decked out in what Jungwoo makes out to be his very own pullover. It was a size too small for Yukhei, but that never stopped him from wearing it out, even when the hem rode up was too high and the sleeves were too short.

Jungwoo leaves the food by the desk, far from the severely contaminated area of the room, shedding his coat and bag before moving over to sit by the bed.

“How are you feeling?” He reaches out to place the back of his right hand against Yukhei’s forehead, worry multiplying a tenfold when it’s scalding hot.

Yukhei exhales at the touch, eyes fluttering shut as he brings his own hand up to cover over Jungwoo’s. “Feels good,” he mumbles, wriggling under his blanket.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Jungwoo tries to keep the harshness to his voice to a minimum. He just hated seeing Yukhei, healthy, healthy Yukhei who ran marathons across the city and played basketball at a collegiate level, all sick and bundled up and sniffling every two seconds.

Yukhei tucks his blanket covered feet behind Jungwoo’s hips, prodding with his toes lightly, “Didn’t want you to worry.”

“Dummy,” Jungwoo grumbles, inching closer to rest his left hand gently on Yukhei’s neck, trying to cool him down. “I’m your boyfriend, it’s my right to worry.”

“Didn’t want you sick,” it’s comes out like a jumble of words, but Jungwoo has no problem decoding them. He’s pretty fluent in Sick Yukhei.

Jungwoo runs his hand through Yukhei’s hair, combing through the strands damp with cold sweat, the touch is still warm. Like a good patient, Yukhei remains still, allowing his boyfriend to nag at him quietly even though there was really nothing he could’ve done to prevent the flu from hitting him. It’s like a cycle, getting horribly sick every four months or so.

“Did you take any medication?”

“Yes,” is the mumbled reply. “Donghyuck held me down and Minhyung shoved a tablespoon of fever reducer in me about two hours ago.” When Jungwoo doesn’t voice any forms of pity, Yukhei cracks an eye open, “I was violated.”

Jungwoo thumbs at the corner of Yukhei’s lips endearingly, but he scoffs at the attempt to earn sympathy, “I bet it was because you didn’t _want_ to take the fever reducer. They did it for your own good.”

“Still,” Yukhei’s argument is a weak whimper. “I didn’t need the medication. I feel fine.”

 _Right on cue_ , Jungwoo pulls his hands off Yukhei, narrowing his eyes at the pathetic whine that escapes, “If you’re feeling fine, you don’t  _really_ need me to take care of you, do you?”

“Baby,” Yukhei wails miserably, reaching up to grab at Jungwoo’s hands, placing them on his cheeks again. Jungwoo allows it, sighing deeply when Yukhei tries to curl onto his lap like an oversized cat.

They stay like that for a while, and Jungwoo keeps at his duty, threading his lanky fingers through Yukhei’s hair to try and lull him back to sleep. When he thinks Yukhei’s breathing has evened out enough, he moves to clear the mess that filled the room, but the grip on his wrists tighten.

Yukhei lets out a low whine.

“Let me clean up a little,” Jungwoo says quietly, biting on his lip at the sight of Yukhei’s brows knitting tightly together. _It must be so uncomfortable_ , he thinks, knowing full well how serious Yukhei’s flus are. “And I want to let some light in, okay? It’ll make you feel a lot better.”

Yukhei doesn’t answer, but he does let Jungwoo go, reluctantly, eyes shut with his lips pulled downwards into a pout.

Jungwoo works quickly, picking his boyfriend's tissues and tossing them into the trashcan, running out to the kitchen to wash his hands clean for good measure. There, he fills a bottle of water and wets a cloth for Yukhei’s fever before jogging back into the room. He leaves the bottle by the edge of the bed, moving to pull the curtains apart. Yukhei hisses, diving further into his bed in attempt to avoid the light.

“C’mon, move over.”

Yukhei pokes his head from under the covers, confused and a little disoriented by the sudden influx of light, “What’re you doing?”

“Getting into bed with you,” Jungwoo answers simply, tugging the blanket open and motioning for Yukhei to scoot inwards.

Faster than expected, Yukhei props his knee up against Jungwoo’s hip, stopping him from coming under, “You’re going to get sick.”

“I knew that the moment I stepped into the room,” Jungwoo deadpans, bumping his hip against Yukhei’s knee and sliding into the flu infested bed. “I get sick every time you get sick, if you haven’t noticed.”

The hesitance is just for show, Jungwoo knows. It’s from past experience that he’s well aware of Sick Yukhei’s antics, craving for human touch even while burning at the hottest temperatures. A heartbeat later, he's wasting no time in wrapping an arm around Jungwoo’s waist, resting his cheek over the soft cotton of Jungwoo’s sweater, words muffled,

“It’s because you take care of me all the time.”

Jungwoo hums, pushing Yukhei’s hair away to rest the cloth there in hopes of bringing the fever down some more. He hooks an arm over Yukhei’s shoulders, caressing the soft spot under Yukhei’s ear with the pad of his fingers. Yukhei shifts to drape a long leg over Jungwoo, clinging onto him tightly.

“Can you stay the night?” Yukhei reaches for Jungwoo’s free hand, moving to lace their fingers together.

“Would it make you feel better?” Jungwoo laughs softly into Yukhei’s hair, letting it tickle his chin.

The response is automatic, “You always make me feel better.”

 _Sleaze_ , Jungwoo thinks, but he lets it slide.

“Then I’ll stay.” The thought of leaving never crossed Jungwoo’s mind, “But you have to eat dinner later, okay? I brought you soup.”

Yukhei burrows his nose into Jungwoo’s chest, inhaling unabashedly, “You’re the best.”

“Get some rest,” is all Jungwoo says.

Minutes pass and when Yukhei’s body gets heavier with every passing second, Jungwoo knows he’s just about to drift off to sleep. He continues to stroke lovingly at Yukhei’s neck, settling back against the pillow to try and get comfortable too. Waves of fatigue take over, and his eyelids slip shut, but before he does greet slumber,

soft and just the faintest murmur,

“I love you.”

 

 

 

 

(Jungwoo loves Yukhei enough to fall asleep while a spot of saliva seeps steadily through his sweater.)

**Author's Note:**

> (will try to work on bigger, better things, sorry)
> 
> kudos + comments / criticisms are greatly appreciated ♡ feedback warmly welcomed! [twitter](https://twitter.com/jenhyungs) | [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/jenhyung)


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